2022 Most Distinguished Developing Career Achievement Prize

The Process Industries Division has awarded Nausheen Basha the 2022 Most Distinguished Developing Career Achievement Prize.

The prize recognises developing engineers who have demonstrated innovative and responsible professional leadership, and the potential for future distinction and commitment to serving others.

The prize money is £1,500 and a certificate.

Dr Nausheen Basha, a Chartered Engineer (IMechE) at Imperial College London, is a highly accomplished researcher and advocate for diversity in engineering. Her work focuses on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multiphase flows, machine learning (ML), and process industry (PI). Dr Basha has been named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering (Inventors & Innovators) by the Women's Engineering Society (WES). She has multiple publications in the areas of CFD, ML, and PI, and her PhD research on computational fluid dynamics modelling of oil-injected compressors was recognised by the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR). In 2021, she received the prestigious Ted Perry Award for her research. Dr Basha's previous work on developing air compressors at City, University of London, was deployed to supply oxygen cylinders during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

She is currently researching data-driven optimisation of mixing reactors as part of the PREMIERE project, and sits on the Data Driven Modelling Special Interest Group. Passionate about improving equality and diversity in engineering, Dr Basha devotes much of her time to inspiring other young women and minority groups to take up STEM subjects. She has organised Nuffield Research Placements and work shadowing programs to give students first-hand experience of engineering careers. She has also contributed to newsletters for the Women's Engineering Society and has been a columnist for Process Industry Informer magazine, where she has written about topics such as cultural barriers for women in STEM, wage gaps, and gender inequality in engineering.

Some comments from the judges

• Nausheen Basha has made great achievements during her education and received awards. Nausheen’s significant technical achievement is firmly rooted in the process industry with the modelling of screw compressor performance to improve efficiency. She has made significant contributions to The Engineer in Society.
• Nausheen Basha is the winner, based on her significant academic achievements, her research into screw compressors and her focus on mechanical engineering in the process industry in her present employment.